Xenia Township formerly embraced all that portion of the county now known as Xenia and Songer Townships, and was separated from the latter by the adoption of township organization in 1861. In 1867, they were again united by act of the Legislature, and so remained until 1869, when they were again separated.
    Xenia Township, so named from the old town of Xenia, which was within its limits, is a half Congressional township, with its longest dimensions east and west, and consequently contains eighteen sections. Its northern boundary is formed by  Songer Township, the eastern boundary being Harter Township; the south is bounded by Wayne County, and the west by Marion County; the township, therefore, lies in Township 2 north, Range 5 east.
    Among the early permanent settlements in Clay County was the one formed in Xenia Township. It is impossible, at this late day to obtain absolute dates of the coming of the first settlers, or to determine fully who the first comer was; but from the best authenticated account, the first white man to settle in the township was a Mr. Kiffcart, who came previous to the year 1818. He located on the land now occupied by D. W. Strain, but only remained for a few years, and was followed to the same place by one Retherford, who came from St. Clair County, Ill.  After a residence of a few years, Retherford left the county for the county's good, as well as to avoid the associations of an uncongenial wife.
    The next actual settlement was made by William Lewis, who settled in 1818 on what has long been known as the old Davenport farm. Mr. Lewis was a native of North Carolina, but came to Clay County from Indiana. He was a man of more than ordinary ability for the time in which he lived.  Like most pioneers, he depended largely upon his gun for the necessary meat to supply his table, and especially excelled in the deer chase and in the search for wild honey; later in life, he became one of the leading farmers and stock raisers of the county, and served the township for some years as Justice of the Peace. The county records show two marriages returns over his name, bearing the dates of June and August, 1820.  About 1830, Mr. Lewis left the township owing, as we are informed, to the pressure of public opinion, those who knew him best being satisfied that his desire for gain had rendered him somewhat covetous. In 1830, he entered land near Georgetown, in Bible Grove Township, where he died many years ago.
    A Mr. Fitch settled a few years subsequent to the coming of Lewis a short distance south of the residence of Mr. Lewis, and on the original route through the township of the '' old trail " which had been changed so that two roads crossed the township, uniting with each other at the extremities of the township east and west. Both Mr. Lewis and Mr. Fitch kept a public house or inn, and consequently, a strife arose between them, each trying to induce the general travel past his own house. As a means to this end, they resorted to advertising, which was done by placing a placard on the sign -post which stood at the point of divergence of the two roads, each claiming his road to be the shortest and best. It is said that Lewis was at last successful, owing to his extreme height, which enabled him to nail his placard high above that of his rival, and thus the longest pole, as is usual, knocked the persimmons.
    In 1822, Isaac Elliott came from Washington County, Ind., to Clay County, Ill., and in 1824, entered a tract of land in Section 1 of Xenia Township. He is still a resident of the same place, and we deem him worthy of more than a passing notice, as he now enjoys the honor of being the oldest settler in the county.  He was born in North Carolina on the 8th of January, 1800, and is therefore, eighty- four years old, and has been a resident of the county sixty-two years, and of Xenia Township for the past sixty years. His father John Elliott, died in North Carolina in 1807, and his mother, whose maiden name was Susanna Cleaver, soon after removed to the Indiana Territory, where Isaac grew to manhood. He was married in Floyd County, Ind., in 1824, to Delilah Walker, and again in Clay  County, Ill., in 1800, to his present wife, Mary, widow of James N. McLin. His first wife died in Clay County in 1805, leaving two children John Wesley Elliott and Catherine, wife of Thomas Monical. Mr. Elliott was a member of the first grand jury ever assembled in Clay County, and let it be recorded to his lasting credit that no man in the county has ever evinced greater zeal for the Christian religion than has been manifested in the life of this old pioneer, having been a faithful and honored member of the M. E. Church for fifty-three years.
    About 1830, the families of John Griffith and Dr. John Davenport settled in the township.  John Griffith came from Kentucky and located in the southern part of the township, and for many years exerted a potent influence for good. He was a pioneer Methodist preacher of more than ordinary ability, and served a term in the State Legislature, during which he won honors for himself, giving his constituency the benefits of his faithful service and ripe judgment.  He died in Xenia Township in 1858. Of his descendants, several are now living in the county and numbered among its most worthy citizens.
    Dr. John Davenport bought the farm of William Lewis, now known as the Davenport farm. He came from Virginia, was a practicing physician, with which he combined general farming. He was very successful in the treatment of the prevalent diseases of the new country, and the first physician in the township; also kept the first post office known as the Cato Post Office.  This position he accepted against his will, and at the earnest solicitation of his neighbors.  As a result, his other cares so occupied his time that, when called upon by Uncle Sam for a report, his report was not ready, and he told the aforesaid Uncle Sam to take the office and go to h—1 with it, and thus ended his service as a Government official.  His successor in the office was John Jordon, who came to the township about 1835, settling in Section 3 on the State road, where he kept a store. Two sons, Frank and Frederick Jordon still reside in the county.
    Maj. John Onstott, in 1828, settled in Section 4, and came from Indiana. He kept a stage stand on the old road, and was a prominent farmer and a man of great energy and perseverance. He recruited a company for the Black Hawk war, and was its Captain.  He died in May, 1876. Of his family, two sons, Levi and John Onstott, are now residents of the county ; a daughter, Sophia Edwards, is a resident of Carlyle, Ill. 
    Abram, Jacob, Frederick, John, Samuel, James and Giles Songer, with their widowed mother, came to the county from Virginia in 1828. Perhaps no family has reflected more honor upon the township than has this family of sterling men. Abram served with Maj. Onstott in the Black Hawk war, and is still in the township. Frederick afterward removed to Songer Township, and died in the town of Kinmundy, Ill. John was noted for his business integrity, and was one of the proprietors of the village of Xenia, and died in 1860.
    The Rev. Joseph Helmn and his father-in-law, John Maxey, settled on Ramsey's Prairie, in the northeast part of the township, about 1832. Joseph Helmn was a farmer, and also a Methodist preacher of the shouting order. He traveled over a radius of for forty miles, holding revival meetings. He was an uneducated man, but nature had done much for him. and for mental penetration and oratorical ability he surpassed most men of his day and surroundings. He died in the township, and is buried in the old camp ground cemetery.  Maxey was an unpolished man of noble parts, and was a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Conference. There are no descendants of either of these pioneers in Clay County.
    In 1831. George and Rebecca Baity came from North Carolina and settled in the southern part of the township. They were members of the Old-School Baptist Church, and their descendants are a prominent factor in the community at the present time.  George Baity was elected to the office of Justice of the Peace early in the political history of the township, and held the office without an intermission until his death, which occurred in the township in December, 1847. The responsibilities of the office were then placed in the hands of his son, Isaac Baity, who still holds the position.  His wife died but recently at a very advanced age. Of the sons, Isaac, James, Giles and Alex are still living.
    Otho Davenport, brother of Dr. John Davenport, came to the township and located in Section 2 in the year 1833. He taught an early school in the township, where he soon became prominent. In 1846, he removed to St Clair County, where he died in 1853.
    In 1835, Samuel Whiteley built a cabin in Section 6, and the year following Leonard Melton settled in the same section.  John Peirce settled on the same section in 1837. He came originally from New Hampshire, married a daughter of Otho Davenport, and is still living and a resident of the village of Xenia.
    Robert Montgomery came in 1837, as did his sons, Isaac and William. The widow of the latter still lives on the old homestead, and is the wife of Jesse Clemens.  Two brothers, William and John Lawson, settled in 1838, the former in Section 7 and the latter in Section 6. William was a Baptist minister, and John kept a country store.  Both in the meantime engaged in farming.  Holman, Anderson, Jarvis, Cook and Henderson came about 1838.
    From this time to 1850, a large number of families settled in this township, among whom were N. B. Nelms, Gilbert Pritchet, a son-in-law of Dr. Davenport, and Aaron Finch. Dr. James A. Finch, son of Aaron, was the second resident physician of the township. He was a graduate of the Chicago Rush Medical College, and married a daughter of John Griffith. Dr. Finch died in September, 1851, and his widow afterward married a lawyer named Griffin, and resides in Louisville, Clay County.
    Following are a few of the earliest land entries in the township: 1830, John Onstott, in Section 1; 1836, Samuel Whiteley, Section 6; Isaac Elliott, Section 1; William Childress, Section 2; John Davenport, John Jordon and John Songer, in Section 3; Jacob Songer, Section 10; William Holman, Rebecca Bosley and George Bailey, in Section 11; John Speaks, Section 12, and Gideon Bosley, in Section 15. In 1837, John and Edward Peirce, in Section 5; Otho Davenport and Leonard Melton, in Section 6; Mary and Abram Songer, Section 15.
    The first death that occurred was that of a child of John Speaks, in Section 12. This was the first burial in what is now the Camp Ground Graveyard.
The marriage of William George and Elizabeth Songer was doubtless the first wedding, but who the first child born may have been is a question too nice for even the oldest inhabitant.